


The Sound of Wings

by squishwrites



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, more characters coming soon too
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-08-22 21:31:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8301844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squishwrites/pseuds/squishwrites
Summary: Fareeha joins Overwatch. Lena has already answered the recall. Turns out they make a formidable team...





	1. Chapter 1

“…and this one’s the last of your boxes, Captain. Let me know if you need anything else shipped from Giza and we’ll get it to you as fast as we can.” The man brushed dust from his gloves as he set the last crate into the truck. The sun rose lazily above the horizon, warm orange light beginning to paint the airstrip.

“Thank you, Asim, but don’t call me Captain. I’m not in charge of you anymore.” Fareeha smiled as she ran a hand through her hair, brown Raptora helmet tucked under her other arm. “Make sure the guys don’t take too many casualties while I’m gone, alright?”

Asim laughed and saluted her. “Yeah, ‘put your security in my hands’, right? We’ll miss you, you know.”

She returned the gesture and began to wave him away. “Don’t get all sappy on me now… you guys will be fine. You’ve still got work to do, so get yourself back on that plane!”

He jogged back towards the transport and waved over his shoulder at her before disappearing inside. Fareeha took a deep breath and turned to her load of crates, taking one more last-minute inventory before the transport left.

“So, sugar, you all loaded an’ ready to hit the road?”

Fareeha peeked around the back of the truck to see a plaid-clad arm hanging lazily out of the driver’s window, shiny chrome hand glinting in the sun. She saw a familiar hat reflected in the side mirror.

“Jesse?!” She jogged to the passenger side and hopped in. It didn’t seem right that the kid she remembered as a lanky troublemaker, always picking fights and stuck to Gabriel Reyes’ side, would have mellowed out into such a laid-back guy. “I can’t believe it-”

“Can’t believe what, darlin’, that I’m stuck on crack-o-dawn shuttle duty from the landin’ pad to HQ? Not exactly the most productive use of my many talents, if I do say…” he spread his gloved hand across his chest as though he was deeply offended.

Fareeha laughed at his feigned disgust. “More surprised that you’re still in one piece after all these years. Can’t imagine life on the road could’ve been easy.”

He turned the key in the ignition and put the truck in gear. Twangy music sprung out of the fuzzy radio.

“Well now, that’s rich comin’ from the girl who carries fireworks around and fights berserk homicidal AI for a living. Anyone with half a brain’d be more worried about you not comin’ home for dinner than little ol’ me.” He tapped a knuckle against her cheek affectionately.

“It’s still a relief to see you again. With that bounty on your head I was afraid you’d go so far underground you’d forget which way was up.”

McCree laughed, deep and rolling, his eyes crinkled at the edges. “Nobody’s getting’ me to go that deep until they’re lowerin’ me six feet under, and that’s not really on the top of my to-do list just yet.”

“How much of a drive is there before we get to the base?”

“'Bout 30 minutes or so, dependin’ on traffic.”

McCree flashed her a cheeky grin and Fareeha rolled her eyes, knowing full well that the Watchpoint was secluded and secured for their operation only. Her smile widened as she hung her arm out the window, wishing the cab of the truck was big enough to allow a reclining seat.

“Y'know, I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to get a quick nap in before we get there. The place’ll be hoppin’ as soon as we pull up, and Winston’ll probably keep you pretty busy all day.”

She propped her feet on the dash and swept his old hat off of his head, throwing it over her face to block the sun. His smoky, dusty smell brought back a flash of childhood memories. She felt cozy.

“Actually, I think I’ll take you up on that offer, sir. Try to avoid the potholes. I’m used to smooth sailing.”

“I’ll do my best, darlin’, but can’t promise any amount of smooth sailin’ from here on out… I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

Muffled by the hat, Fareeha scoffed. “Don’t get deep now, Jesse. I need my beauty sleep. I know what I signed up for.”

Mccree let out a low whistle. “Well then, hotshot… that makes one of us! Don’t let that cat outta the bag or people might start thinkin’ this ain’t your first rodeo!” Fareeha gave him a light shove.

He turned the radio up a bit and started to hum along while Fareeha drifted off. She’d waited her whole life for this call, and she’d be ready for anything that came with it.

 

*

 

They arrived at the main compound at 0700 hours, McCree honking the truck’s horn and grabbing his hat back to rouse Fareeha from her slumber.

“Room 218 will be your home sweet home while you’re with the team. Set your pass code the first time you open the door and don’t forget it; Winston hates resetting them. Unpack what you can fit in there and grab a shower if ya want. Breakfast will be over before you’ll have a chance to get to the dinin’ room, so I’ll try'n grab you somethin’ before they close the kitchen up for lunch prep.” Fareeha nodded and they hopped out of the truck to unload her crates.

“Winston wants you to report to him in the lab upstairs before eight o'clock, so if you’re gonna need a tour guide just gimme a ring.” He set a crate on the dolly and fished a sturdy phone out of his pocket to toss to her. “Keep that on you at all times. If there’s an emergency anywhere, that’s how you’ll hear about it.”

“Thanks Jesse. I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’ll be sure to thank Winston for the incredible valet service when I report!”

McCree stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed. He was starting to get a little grey and very soft around the edges, but she was glad to see he hadn’t lost the spark that she remembered from years ago.

Adjusting the last of her crates on the dolly, Fareeha waved a quick goodbye to Jesse and turned to enter the barracks. She was pleased to see the hall was tidy and smelled of citrus, perhaps recently cleaned in anticipation of her arrival. Her room was also fresh, with clean sheets hugging the small cot and the window wide open to let in the sea breeze. A sturdy sink and mirror hugged one corner of the room, not far from a compact chest of drawers and a contoured plastic chair. The opposite wall was covered by a set of cabinets and a narrow countertop, a dainty arrangement of teas laid out in the centre with a handwritten ‘welcome to the team’ note placed on top.

She cracked her knuckles and started to unload her crates, wishing she’d had the foresight to make a list of the items held within each numbered box. She pried open the lids until she found her toiletries, shoved a fluffy golden yellow towel under her arm, and looped the cord of her shampoo bag around her wrist. Proper unpacking could wait until the evening. Fareeha could swear she heard the showers calling her by name.

The women’s showers were spacious and pristine, stainless steel stalls obviously well maintained. Fareeha was surprised nobody else was in the room at this hour of the morning. She wondered if Winston would have a schedule for her outlining the washroom’s operating hours; she certainly hoped not.

She picked a stall, draped her towel over the hook on the wall, and quickly undid her four small braids. Tossing her clothes into a pile on the bench outside the stall, she stepped inside and turned on the water.

Washing off the grime of a flight had always helped her feel sharp and ready for the rest of the day, whether she’d been airborne on a plane or in her suit. She watched the water spiral down the drain while she scrubbed, savouring the smell of the spices in her body wash. She gave herself an extra minute to stand with the water working at a knot in her neck, stretching and taking a deep breath to ground herself before she twisted the tap closed.

She ruffled her hair with her towel before wrapping it around herself, cursing her oversight of not bringing a clean change of clothes. She hurriedly gathered her items in her arms and spun on her heel, running straight into the woman behind her.

“Ooh!" Shampoo bottles clattered to the floor and Fareeha only had time to register a fluff of blonde hair before it swooped to the ground to start cleaning up, mumbling to itself.

_"Es tut mir leid… das leben ist kein ponyhof-”_

“Fareeha! Winston said you’d be arriving any day but I didn’t think I’d run into you quite this soon!” She rose gracefully and held out Fareeha’s bottles for her to take.

“Mmhm, I was beginning to think everyone was out for the day and I wouldn’t be seeing any of you, much less literally running int-” Before she could finish, Angela had wrapped an arm around her, squeezing her tightly.

Fareeha tensed, unsure of how to reciprocate when her arms were already full.

Angela let her go and took a step back, looking a little embarrassed. “My apologies – I’m not sure what just came over me. It’s just so exciting when a new team member arrives, and it’s been so long since I last saw you… I let it get the better of me. I should give you some time to settle in first.”

Fareeha adjusted her towel and offered a smile. “You don’t need to apologize, but for future reference, I do prefer being fully clothed when getting a hug in greeting.”

Angela blushed and started to shimmy past her. “Of course, of course. I, um… I’ll let you get on your way.” She gave Fareeha a quick nod and entered the nearest shower stall, dragging the curtain hurriedly across the doorway.

Fareeha hurried to her room to get dressed and ready to report to Winston. An apple sat on a napkin on the floor outside of her door, a small protein bar balanced across the top of it. McCree had obviously not been able to scrounge up much from the kitchen. She wolfed them down as she dug through her crates for something to wear, neat and tidy enough to make a good first impression.

Other than McCree picking her up and Angela meeting her in the washroom, the compound had very few signs of life. It was starting to make her uneasy.

 

*

 

The lab was simple enough to locate. Fareeha could hear voices as she got close, and wondered if she might be interfering with a meeting of some sort. She rounded the corner to see Winston sitting at a long counter across from McCree and a slight woman she’d only seen on the old vids and posters. Her tight orange pants left little to the imagination, and Fareeha wondered how she’d survived as many missions as she had without having a proper suit of armour.

“Ah! Ms. Amari! You’re a little ahead of schedule.” Winston rose from his seat and gave a friendly smile.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Actually, you’re just in time!” The woman sprung off of her stool and closed the space between them with long, easy strides. She stuck out her hand. “Nice t’ meet ya, luv! I was hoping we’d get a heavy hitter on the team soon. It’ll be nice to have some more punch behind Reinhardt’s shield. Plus,” she leaned in and stated in an obvious, loud whisper, “McCree’s too slow to properly watch my back!”

Jesse held his hands up defensively. “Whoa there, that’s a little unfair! We can’t all be goin’ Mach 3 all the time.”

Tracer laughed. “Mach 3 is nothing, cowboy.”

Fareeha shook her hand. “Fareeha Amari. Pleasure to finally meet you in person, Ms. Oxton.”

“Just about everyone calls me Tracer, but you can call me Lena if you’d like.” She winked. “Just don’t call me late-”

“-for dinner. Lena, you joke-stealin’ rascal. Get outta here ‘fore I tan your hide. That ship ain’t gonna run pre-flight checks on itself.” McCree shooed her out the door. She snapped and pointed her fingers at him while she scurried off.

“You’re preparing for a flight?”

Winston pushed his glasses up his nose. “We’ve received an encrypted message detailing the location of some privileged information. Lena and Angela have offered to try a clandestine approach to obtain the data without making a scene, but I doubt it will be that easy.”

“Who sent the message? Do you have people on the ground already? Can’t they investigate?”

Jesse shook his head. “It’s not that simple. We’re not even sure if we can trust the message in the first place. The encryption was an old Overwatch standard, but on a level that only a few agents had clearance to use. Anyone who would’ve known about it is either with us here or… well… long gone.”

“But,” Winston interjected, “if it’s legitimate, it would vastly improve our chances of locating and identifying the Talon agents we’ve gone head-to-head with in the past few weeks.”

“It’s risky.”

“It could be our best chance yet.”

Fareeha put her hands on her hips. “It would beat sitting around here waiting for Talon to come back with reinforcements. Give me a team. We’ll get it.”

Winston chuckled. “I appreciate your determination, but I’d like to run you through the simulators before sending you into the field. It wouldn’t be fair to throw you right into the action.”

Fareeha scoffed. “I can handle myself and you know that, or you wouldn’t have called me. You’re not worried about the missions. You want to know how I fit into the team.”

“It’s more of a familiarity thing, darlin’. Everybody works better as a unit after getting a few practice rounds under their belts together. Get to know each other’s style. ”

“I’m a fast learner.”

If Winston thought he could relegate her to the Watchpoint when there was work to be done, he was in for a surprise. Her steely gaze met Winston’s eyes and they locked onto each other for a few tense moments. McCree started to fidget.

“Alright, fine.” Winston let out a sigh. “But only because the flight will be long enough that you’ll have time to discuss strategy onboard. Lena will brief you in the hangar. Suit up and report to her directly. You’re dismissed.”

Fareeha nodded sharply. “Thank you, Sir.”

“Stay safe out there. You’re still doing the simulations when you get back.”

“Acknowledged.” She smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

Lena plucked her grease-stained gloves from her hands and crossed her arms, looking affectionately up at her gleaming transport.

“Lookin’ good, girl. You’re in tip-top shape and ready to roll!”

She tossed the gloves into a toolbox on the hangar floor and ran a hand along the hull of the ship.

“Hey! Len!” a cheery voice rang out across the hangar, accompanied by a bass beat she could feel in her chest.

“Lúcio! I knew you’d be the first one here!” she stuck her hand out to high-five him as he zipped past her in a streak of green.

“Actually, I was kinda hoping I’d be the only one here so I could test out this sweet smooth floor.” He showed off some fancy footwork to illustrate his point. “Can’t risk fallin’ on my face in front of someone else though, so it’ll have to wait!”

Lena laughed and Lúcio slid to a stop next to her. “You’re all ready for the flight?”

He nodded. “Of course! As soon as I heard we’d be heading back across the ocean I had my bag packed.” He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder towards his bulging backpack, a small stuffed frog peeking out from the top. “Didn’t have room for my pillow though… do you know if we’re staying for a while over there, or are we just hoppin’ there and back?”

“Hm, not sure, actually. Winston’s instructions were to obtain the data first and figure it out from there, so we might get a chance to explore.” She could feel her excitement building.

The mechanical scraping of the large hangar doors dragging open interrupted them. Lena could see Reinhardt’s impressive silhouette dragging the cart of crates containing his armour, giant hammer slung over his shoulders casually. Angela glided across the floor next to him, looking like a feather in the breeze compared to his hulking frame. He shouted a merry greeting across the hangar and she waved sweetly.

“Well, me ‘n Lírios are gonna get the best seat in the house before there’s competition!” Lucio whooped excitedly and sped up the transport’s ramp, reaching behind him for his frog on the way.

Lena waved at Reinhardt and Angela before tucking inside the ship to get everything warmed up. She felt a wave of calm settle across her mind as she fiddled with the control panel, setting the engines to a low power and running pre-flight diagnostics. She was back in her element. Back with her family.

“Let me get that for you, Angela! Do not worry about the heavy lifting while I am around!”

Lena peeked out the door to see Reinhardt hefting his crates and Angela’s large trunk into the cargo hold. Angela was pointing out angles for him to adjust the luggage to fit most efficiently in the confined space. Lena heard a new voice call out from in front of the transport and turned to the source.

“Now now, Doc – there’s plenty of room in that hold. Give the ol’ guy a break!” McCree sauntered up behind them, a single well-worn knapsack slung over one shoulder.

Fareeha was on his tail, dragging her own large wheeled case, ‘Amari’ stamped across the sandy camouflage in spray-painted white letters. She stashed it neatly next to Reinhardt’s gear and gave Angela a quick thumbs-up. Angela punched a code into a touchpad near the cargo door and sealed everything inside.

Lena leaned against the doorway at the top of the transport’s ramp, doing a headcount. She waved them towards her.

“Alrighty – all aboard!”

“This is a plane, Len, not a train!” Lúcio’s voice rang out from his seat inside the ship, where he’d already buckled himself in, hugging his stuffed frog to his chest.

She wrinkled her nose at him. “It’s my ship and I make the rules! Rule number one is that you all need to call me ‘Captain’, and rule number two is that there are no more rules.”

“So if you’re the captain of this ship, who’s your first mate?” Fareeha stopped in the doorway next to her, humour in her eyes.

Lena could feel her heart start to race again, the banter pulling her from her pre-flight routine and getting her freshly excited to have her team back.

“Definitely me,” Lúcio piped up again. “It’s first come, first served around here, slow pokes!”

“Fair enough.” McCree sat down next to him, tucking his knapsack into the net below the seat. “You’ll get to do all the dirty work while ‘Captain Cool’ over here takes all the credit.”

“Hey! I’m a reasonable Captain!” Lena stuck her nose up with an air of exaggerated pomp. “You can all share the dirty work equally before I take all the credit.”

Fareeha saluted her dramatically. “Yessir, Captain Cool! Pharah reporting for dirty work.” She chuckled. “Aren’t you supposed to be briefing us on the mission?”

“Right.” Lena punched the keypad by the door and sealed the hull, letting everyone settle into a seat. Her tone went from playful to serious almost immediately as she began her overview.

“We’ve got word there’s a microchip with some sort of sensitive information stashed somewhere near ‘the fountain’ in Dorado. Not entirely sure yet which fountain we’re looking for, but Winston is doing some research while we fly.

“Lúcio and I will do some light recon before everyone comes in, in case it’s hiding in plain sight. McCree, you’re checking the perimeter, watching our backs, keeping an eye out for anything weird. We should blend in well enough to not raise too much suspicion from locals, but we still need to be on our toes in case whoever sent this message is out to get us.

“Reinhardt, you’re in charge back at the shuttle. Hold the fort and be online in case we need you. Mercy and Pharah, you guys are with him. If all goes well, you won’t see any action, but we need you in your suits just in case.”

They nodded as they settled into their seats and buckled in.

“Got it! This will be a breeze!” Reinhardt raised a giant fist towards Lúcio to bump

Lena moved to the cockpit and completed her pre-flight routine. She was ready to get this bird in the air.

 

*

 

The sky was dark when they touched down, but the city was a myriad of lights and colours. Lena brought the shuttle to a soft landing along an empty patch of beach on the outskirts, gentle enough not to rouse Lúcio, who had fallen asleep an hour into their flight. He was raucously awoken moments later by a large, enthusiastic hand on his shoulder.

“Touchdown, my boy! Are you ready to rumble!?”

Lúcio wiped some drool from his chin with the back of his hand and blinked heavily, trying to get his bearings.

McCree chuckled. “Easy tiger. That boy’s gonna need a couple of minutes before he’s ready for anything, much less rumblin’.”

Lena popped out of the cockpit as the ship powered down to a low hum, waiting on standby until they were ready to leave.

“Ok team, look alive! I’ve got coordinates from Winston that we’ll be checking out first, and if we can’t find anything there we’ll go on a little treasure hunt on our own.” She tossed everyone an earpiece. “Put these on and don’t let them leave your head until you’re back on this deck, safe and sound! Speak as you normally would – no need for that fancy special agent talk – we don’t want to draw too much attention.”

Lúcio stuffed his frog back into his backpack, looking more alive than he had a minute ago. Lena opened the doors and darted to open the cargo hold while the team wandered down the ramp, stretching and gazing at the scenery. Angela muttered something about the humidity and her hair while she waited for her trunk. Fareeha wandered slightly and took a deep breath, smelling the sea, bonfires, and home cooked food. Music and laughter was in the air. Everything felt warm and inviting.

Lena hauled her crate to her, leaning against it while adjusting her goggles. “You ready, luv?”

Fareeha turned towards her voice. Moonlight streaked her wild hair and the glow from her chronal accelerator painted strange shadows across her face.

“Of course.” She nodded sharply. “Awaiting your orders.”

Lena smiled. “Nothing’s really changed since the briefing in Gibraltar, but I’m expecting you to keep that one on a tight leash,” she nodded towards Reinhardt, who was hefting pieces of his armour out of his crates.

Fareeha chuckled as she started to unpack and assemble her suit. “Don’t worry about him. I’ve had him wrapped around my finger since I was this tall,” she bumped her hand into her thigh. “Plus, if anyone’s going to get in trouble tonight, it’ll be Jesse.”

Lena laughed, wrinkling her nose, and waved off the comment. “Please, I can keep that guy under control. Just tell ‘im what’s on the menu for breakfast tomorrow and suddenly he’s all business, ready to get the job done and back home again.”

As if on cue, McCree’s voice drawled through the heavy air.

“If you gals are done shootin’ the breeze, we’d like to get this show on the road. Don’t have all night, y’know.” He tossed a large hoodie to Lena. “And put this on, Giggles. People are gonna notice your glow.”

Lena wrestled with the sweater, trying in vain to keep the sleeves from going over her hands. Lúcio skated over to help.

“Hey, uh, any chance we could grab a snack before we get going?” Lúcio’s stomach growled loudly as he tried to stifle the noise with his hands.

Lena’s mouth twisted while she thought, doing a quick mental inventory of what she had aboard the ship. Lúcio rolled her sleeves neatly.

“Actually, I’m not really sure if-”

“You got it, kid.” Fareeha opened one of the pouches on in the breastplate of her beige armour, grabbing a few small energy bars. She tossed a couple to Lúcio and one to Lena. “Might as well fuel up now. Less to distract you later.”

Lúcio muttered something to Lena that Fareeha couldn’t quite catch and the two high-fived.

“Right then – let’s go! Last one there cleans the ship when we’re home!”

Lena and Lúcio took off together, McCree loping behind them. Fareeha adjusted the last of her armour and powered it up, testing her jets with a little spurt. She turned on her earpiece.

“Testing connection. Please report.”

Lena’s voice responded first, loud in her ear.

“All good here. Are you guys ready, Pharah?”

“Affirmative.” Angela’s voice was softer, but still came through clearly.

“Heyo! This is gonna be great!” Lúcio’s excitement was palpable. “There’s piñatas everywhere out here!”

“Let us know if you need a hand with breaking them!” Reinhardt laughed and flexed, garnering chuckles and eye-rolls from Angela and Fareeha.

Fareeha paged once more to all channels, humour still in her eyes. 

"Stay safe out there. Let's all get home in one piece tonight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Lúcio & Lena high five, it's because he says 'Hey, the new girl comes with snacks!'


	3. Chapter 3

The trio arrived at the fountain after a short wander. For as animated as the city had looked from the air, it was strikingly lifeless on the ground. Vibrant lights and paint adorned the buildings and market stalls, but no faces peeked from the windows. Piñatas swayed above the walkways, but no joyous crowds gathered around them. Rubble rested in the street.

“Oi, McCree – whaddya think of this?” Lena waved him over while she nudged a crumbled piece of wall with her foot.

“Looks pretty fresh. Can’t have been sittin’ here for long.” He studied the buildings nearby. “Doesn’t look like it came off any of these, and it doesn’t look like it came off willingly either.”

“Um, guys?” Lúcio’s worried tone broke their focus on the buildings. “Isn’t there supposed to be a data chip here somewhere?” He skated around the fountain, running his hands along the lip and under the edge, searching for anything tucked away in a hiding spot.

“Well, we gotta find it. They ain’t gonna leave it all wrapped up with a ribbon for us to pick up.”

“Or... ” Lena raised an eyebrow at Jesse, pointing to the piñatas. “What if that’s exactly what they did?”

Lúcio grinned. “Want me to call in backup?”

McCree shook his head. “Now let’s not put the cart before the horse, here. The point of a quiet operation is to _not_ make a huge scene. Let’s keep looking.”

Lena joined Lúcio at the fountain, checking every angle and testing the cobblestones around it with her boot. Jesse moved to the perimeter of the market, scanning the buildings and alleyways for anything that looked suspicious. Fareeha’s voice chimed across their communicators.

“Recon team, status report. Over.”

“We’ve arrived at the fountain, but so far no sign of any… thing?” Lena’s silence hung over the channel awkwardly.

“Tracer, please clarify. Over.”

“Well, there’s nobody here. We haven’t found the data. We haven’t even seen a bird fly by. The place feels very… haunting.”

“There’s definitely been a disturbance of some sort ‘round here.” McCree chimed in. “I’d chalk this damage up to some sort of explosive, but we haven’t found the blast site yet, and we ain’t sure if this has anything to do with our op or not.”

“Recon team, do you require assistance? Over.”

“Nah, so far so good.” Lúcio waved Lena closer to him as he spoke through his comm, hand dipping into the water to pull at a small bag on the underside of the fountain’s lip. “Actually, I think I might’ve just-”

As he grabbed the bag, a canister hit the street, smoke hissing out of it while more fell around the market. Lena tackled him to the ground, covering both of their heads with her arms, and sending the bag skidding across the street. Gunshots rang out, keeping them pinned.

From across the square, Jesse searched the darkened windows for any sign of the shooter, Peacekeeper held tightly in his hand. Nothing lit up the buildings across the road; their assailant could only be above him.

“Tracer! Keep your heads down and get to the other side of that fountain for cover! Pharah, we’re ready for that back-up now!”

Angela’s voice wafted over the comm channel in response. “Already en route!”

He spun on his heel and loped up the staircase behind him, taking it two steps at a time. As he reached the top, he saw Reinhardt’s lumbering suit streak up the road, crashing to a stop against the fountain. Moments later, his shield sprung to life, creating a barrier between Lena and Lúcio and the spray of bullets flying from the window.

Jesse rested his back against the wall, peeking slowly around the corner, gun at the ready. A single black-clad soldier lay on the floor, peppering fire across the square below, unaware of his presence.

Jesse dove through the doorway, tucking and rolling towards the soldier. He grabbed a flashbang from his belt and lobbed it, stunning the soldier long enough for Jesse to kick the gun out the open window. The soldier fumbled for a knife, still shaking off the effects of the flashbang, but Jesse was quicker. Peacekeeper cracked against the side of the soldier’s head, and Jesse shoved the crumpled unconscious form into the corner.

“This town ain’t big enough for the two of us.” He quipped dryly.

He returned to the window, ready to give an ‘all-clear’ to his friends on the ground, but stopped dead in his tracks. A dozen more black-clad soldiers surrounded the fountain, rifles at the ready. Lena and Lúcio stood on either side of Reinhardt, close enough to tuck under his giant arms.

Jesse cursed himself for dropping the larger gun so far out of reach. He knew if he started shooting with his revolver, no good could possibly come of it. He ducked back into the shadow of the room, calculating a strategy while he stayed out of view.

“Move back!”

Soldiers tumbled over one another as a blast sent them staggering away from the fountain. Reinhardt used the momentary confusion to send a burst of fire from his hammer, clearing a path through the human perimeter. Pharah’s jets lit up the sky as she closed the ground between herself and the pile of grunts, Mercy’s staff acting like a tether to keep her on course as well.

Jesse was back in the window in an instant, picking off as many of the combatants as he could before they regained their bearings. Pharah launched her rockets near the goons, rather than directly at them, to keep them unbalanced and inaccurate. Reinhardt moved with Lúcio, pushing half of the soldiers back the way he’d stormed in. Mercy offered a boost to Lúcio while she kept an eye on the team, fluttering back and forth as bullets clipped their armour. Together, they began to corner the remaining troops. Jesse heard Lena blink away from the crowd, but with the hoodie covering the glow from her accelerator, he lost her in the commotion.

*

Lena tucked herself as close to the buildings as she could, spraying a group of soldiers with rapid fire from her twin pistols.

“Ey! Lackeys! C’mon and just _try_ to catch me!”

She blinked through the intricately decorated archway, taunting them with a cheeky twirl of her gun before giggling and running around the corner. Half a dozen soldiers sprinted after her.

Seconds later, she appeared against the buildings again, running and sliding around the corner as she darted up the same staircase Jesse had taken. She crouched in anticipation.

The soldiers did not file back through the archway like she’d expected. She could hear them rustling around the corner. Springing back to her feet, she tip-toed to the alley and peeked around the corner.

The soldiers were running single file down the road towards the Lumerico plant. Lena pointed her guns, considering pursuit, but caught ‘reinforcements’ and ‘acknowledged’ faintly from their comms. She spun on her heel and blinked back toward the fountain in the square.

“We need to pack it in right now! Company’s coming. Everyone get back to the ship!”

“What?! We don’t even have the data!” Lúcio looked panicked. “I can’t see it anywhere – someone must’ve grabbed the bag-”

“No time. Reinforcements incoming, and we don’t have the firepower.”

“What do we do with these?” Mercy nodded towards the grunts pinned in the corner by Reinhardt and Pharah. “I won’t let you execute them all.”

“Oh Angela, you know me better than that! Let me handle them!” Reinhardt twirled his hammer in the strings of lights hanging above the street, ripping a strand down. He let out a hearty laugh as he slammed his hammer down, knocking the troops to the ground in an unconscious pile. “Now let’s move! We don’t have all day!”

Lúcio hurried around them with the lights, tangling them together into a heap, before joining his friends in their retreat. He offered a boost while they ran, covering twice as much ground as they would’ve without him.

Lena blinked ahead, eager to get the ship warmed up. She sped up the ramp and slid into the pilot’s seat, firing up the engines and running her pre-flight checks as Reinhardt and the others thundered across the beach. She yelled a roll-call as they streamed into the hold, and stopped short when she didn’t get an answer for ‘McCree’.

“Where’s Jesse!?”

The team looked at each other desperately, hoping for a status update. Lena’s hand flew to her comm.

“McCree? What’s your ETA?”

She heard heavy panting in response.

“McCree? Jesse!?”

“Sniper. Got me scramblin’ like a fox in a henhouse. Nicked me in the arm. Not badly, but I’m feelin’ it.”

Fareeha reloaded her rocket launcher and turned for the door.

“Hang tight, Jesse. I’m on my way.”

“Not alone you’re not!” Lúcio glided down the ramp after her, waving his hand to the beat while they sped away.

Fareeha fired up her rocket boosters, scanning the rooftops for the sniper as she bobbed through the air.

“Jesse, I need your location.”

“Uh – tucked in an underground walkway right now. Not sure if I can get out to meet ya without getting’ dinged again. Big red building right next to me. Sniper’s somewhere behind me, seems to be pretty close. Wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve got a clear sightline to the ship too, so stay sharp.”

“Acknowledged. Keep your head down, we’re going to get you out in no time.”

Fareeha squinted into the night, hoping to catch a glimpse of light from the sniper’s sight. Nothing.

“I’m at the red building Jesse. No sign of this sniper yet.”

She touched down and tucked behind the corner of the building, hoping she’d blocked herself off from the right lines of sight. She heard Jesse holler and started to close the distance.

“Lúcio, what’s your status?”

“Comin’ up from the beach now. Any routes I should avoid?”

“Stay off the main road, boy. Keep your movements unpredictable.” Jesse spoke over his comm while he crept up the stairs towards Fareeha, trying to see to the rooftops without coming completely out of cover.

“Don’t even come this deep, Lúcio. We’ll fall back to you and you can get us out of here.”

“You got it!”

Jesse darted from the staircase to Fareeha while he cradled his arm. He kept his head down and tucked close to her, the wing of her armour shielding the side of his face. Fareeha put her hand on his back to guide him and paged back to the team.

“McCree is secure. On our way back.”

They headed toward the beach, stepping out from behind the cover of the buildings. Lúcio rushed to meet them. A sharp red spot appeared on the side of Fareeha’s sandy helmet.

“Watch out!” Lúcio fired a concussive burst into them both, shoving them back as a shot whizzed through the air where Fareeha had been moments earlier. She whipped around towards the source to see a slim figure dart behind cover on the rooftop at the end of the street. She fired a blast at the roof, hoping to dislodge the sniper from their perch.

“C’mon, we’re out of time.” She hefted Jesse over her shoulder and launched into the air, heading for the ship but keeping her eye on the roof.

Lúcio hopped down from the sidewalk, skating down the steep wall towards the sand of the beach.

“We’re incoming.” Fareeha paged to the transport. “Jesse is wounded, but stable.”

Lúcio reached the ship before them, wheeling around to watch their backs and wait for a safe touchdown before he scooted up the ramp. Fareeha followed close behind, Jesse in her arms. Angela met them at the door, punched the keypad to slam it shut, and immediately turned her attention to Jesse’s arm.

“The bullet seems to have missed anything too important, but that wound should get stitched up properly to get you back to normal faster. Luckily you haven’t lost much blood, so we won’t need to take drastic measures on the transport.”

Jesse nodded at her and let her lead him to his seat while Fareeha tossed her helmet down next to him and continued on to the cockpit.

“Does this thing have any sort of shield?” She peeked out the windshield at the skyline, searching for the sniper again.

“Nope, just armour on this one, but she’s fast.” Lena flipped switches on the ceiling and hopped into her chair. She hollered back into the hold. “The captain has switched your seatbelt sign to ‘on’.”

Fareeha stood, still looking out the window towards the city.

“Hey?” Lena cocked her head at her. “That means you, too. I can’t take off if I’m going to have bodies flying around in here. Workplace safety and health hazard, right?”

“Right.” Fareeha took the seat next to her and awkwardly strapped in as best she could with her bulky armour on. “If there’s anything I can do to help, let me know.”

“You got it!” she winked as she fiddled with her controls, easing the ship up and toward the sea, putting as much distance between them and the city as she could.

Fareeha scratched at her neck. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to get out of some of this and sit properly.”

“No worries, luv. Should be smooth sailing from here on out, so I don’t mind if you unbuckle.”

Fareeha began disassembling her pieces, stashing what she could in the mesh storage along the back wall to keep it from rattling around the cockpit.

“Y’know, if you’d mentioned you were going to be givin’ out rides, I would’ve come along too!”

Fareeha chuckled. “That was more of a spur of the moment choice. Didn’t you say you had McCree under control before we even went in there?”

Lena removed her goggles and scratched at the back of her head. “Yeah, guess I made a right mess out of that, hey?”

“I’m just teasing – I don’t think anyone could ever really keep up with that guy. Trouble follows him around.”

“Still… it’s always scary when your friends aren’t where they should be.” Lena’s shoulders tensed and she began to tremble, but her hands stayed steady on the controls.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, nerves are just catching up to me, is all. That adrenaline has to go somewhere when the mission’s over.”

Fareeha walked up behind her, holding her hands out to the side of the seat.

“May I?”

Lena glanced at her and gave her a nod.

Her hands were strong and slow, and she was careful to run her thumbs along next to the harness of her chronal accelerator without bumping it into her neck. She was steady and practiced, massaging the tightness from Lena’s shoulders. Lena could feel her body calming down and took a deep breath and let out a sigh.

“Where’d you learn this?”

“Got a few pointers from my mother when I was little. Reinhardt used to let me practice on him. It’s easy to find the muscles your hands are looking for when you can see them from across the room.”

Lena laughed. “What was it like? Growing up with Overwatch in its heyday?”

Fareeha smiled. “Never a dull moment, that’s for sure. I’ve got so many stories.”

“I’d love to hear ‘em!” Lena nodded toward the empty co-pilot seat.

She sat down and buckled in again. “Really? I wouldn’t want to waste your time…”

Lena smiled warmly and brushed her fringe out of her eyes to get a clear view of Fareeha’s face.

“Trust me, luv, it’ll be time well spent.”

**Author's Note:**

> http://squish-writes.tumblr.com/


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